'Massive surprise': Chetan Sakariya on his maiden India call-up
Jun 12, 2021
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 12 : Young speedster Chetan Sakariya, who recently received his maiden call-up for the India squad, said that it was a massive surprise for him to be picked in the side for the Sri Lanka series.
The All-India Senior Selection Committee on Thursday picked the squad for the Sri Lanka tour. While Shikhar Dhawan was appointed as the skipper with Bhuvneshwar Kumar being picked as the vice-captain, Sakariya earned his maiden call-up to the national side.
Sakariya, who impressed everyone in the Indian Premier League (IPL) is confident about showcasing his skills in the upcoming series.
"I would've been happy just going to Sri Lanka as a net bowler, so this is a massive surprise," ESPNcricinfo quoted Sakariya as saying.
"At the IPL, I thought I exceeded my own expectations. Initially, I thought I may have to wait for my turn [at the Royals], but once I got into the camp, the kind of confidence and faith everyone showed in me, I got the vibes that I'll start.
"So while it is a surprise [to be picked for India], I'm very much ready and confident with the way I've prepared," he added.
India and Sri Lanka will lock horns in the three-match ODI series and as many T20Is from July 13.
The three ODIs will be played on July 13, 16, and 18. While the T20I series will commence on July 21, and the next two matches will be played on July 23 and 25.
The India squad led by Dhawan will play three intra-squad games in Colombo as preparation for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka.
But first, the team will undergo a 14-day quarantine in India (seven days of hard and seven days of soft quarantine) from Monday before undergoing another phase of quarantine in Colombo.
Speaking to ANI, sources in the know of developments in the Lankan board confirmed that the Indian players wanted to play some practice games, but the COVID-19 situation meant it had to be intra-squad games and not against a Sri Lanka 'A' team.
"The Indians wanted to play some warm-up games against the 'A' team or a team that could be arranged, but the COVID-19 protcols made that a little difficult and that is when a request went to BCCI to play intra-squad games. So, the Indian team will now play one T20 game and two one-day games to prepare for the limited-overs series," the source said.
The Indian team leaves for Colombo on June 28.
